First gas fuelling of first LNG-powered Aframax tanker

Shell’s 6,500-m³ LNG bunker vessel Cardissa has fuelled the 114,000-dwt Sovcomflot tanker Gagarin Prospect in the port of Rotterdam in an operation that marks a number of LNG bunkering industry firsts.

It was not only the first ship-to-ship (STS) LNG bunkering procedure to take place in Rotterdam, Cardissa’s home port, but also the world’s first fuelling with LNG of a gas-powered Aframax tanker.

The STS transfer involving Cardissa and Gagarin Prospect also marks the commencement of an LNG fuel supply agreement Shell and Sovcomflot signed in 2017. The contract pioneered the expansion of LNG fuel into the larger tanker sector and, in general, for vessels not tied to fixed routes or set timetables.

On the occasion of the historic fuelling operation, Shell Shipping and Maritime vice president Grahaeme Henderson, said “This exciting first for Cardissa is a tangible example of Shell driving LNG as a cleaner-burning and viable fuel for the shipping industry. It is highly appropriate that we celebrate this first with Sovcomflot and their first LNG-powered tanker, which we also happen to charter.”

Sovcomflot president and chief executive Sergey Frank added “Together with Shell, SCF Group shares a determination to reduce the environmental impact of energy shipping. This was the genesis of our ‘Green Funnel’ project, and since April 2015 we have been working very closely with Shell on every aspect of it to bring the project to successful fruition. The first tangible result was the introduction into service of Gagarin Prospect, the world’s first Aframax tanker to use LNG as her primary fuel.”

Rotterdam is among several European ports offering discounts to ‘green shipping’, including LNG-powered vessels, and has played a key role in the historic fuelling operation. The Dutch port offers a 6% Green Award discount and a 20% environmental ship index discount, which the Sovcomflot tankers are eligible for. On a port charge of about US$88,500 for an Aframax tanker, for example, Rotterdam’s discounts amount to approximately US$10,000, or a little over 11%.

Sovcomflot’s new class of Green Funnel Aframaxes will initially comprise Gagarin Prospect and five sister ships. Gagarin Prospect and the second ship in the series, Samuel Prospect, have been chartered by Shell for 10 years for operation in the high traffic areas of the Baltic and North Seas.

The name Gagarin Prospect was inspired by the Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, while Samuel Prospect is named after Sir Marcus Samuel, the founder of Shell in the 1890s. Gagarin Prospect commenced a charter to Shell in July 2018 while Samuel Prospect will start work for the energy major in 2019.  

Although chartering only the first two vessels in the series, Shell will fuel all six of Sovcomflot’s ice class 1A Green Funnel tankers.

Being built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI) in Korea, the sextet is powered by low-pressure, two-stroke, dual-fuel engines of the X-DF type from Winterthur Gas & Diesel. The ships’ auxiliaries and boilers are also equipped for operation on gas fuel. Each tanker sports two deck-mounted, IMO Type C LNG bunker tanks of around 850 m³ each.

The Russian shipbuilder Zvezda co-operated with HSHI and Sovcomflot in the design development work on the Green Aframaxes, as part of a technology transfer process. HSHI’s parent, Hyundai Heavy Industries, is assisting with a decade-long process to establish the Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex near Primorsk in Russia as a constructor of large, seagoing vessels.

In September 2018 Sovcomflot confirmed orders for a pair of 114,000-dwt, LNG-powered Aframaxes at Zvezda. The latest Green Funnel duo, which will be taken on charter by Rosneft for 20 years, will be built to ice class 1A/1B, a rating indicating suitability for year-round operations in areas with difficult ice conditions, including sub-Arctic seas and Russia’s Baltic Sea ports.

All aspects of the ship/shore interface will be discussed at the LNG Ship/Shore Interface Conference Europe, 22-23 November 2018 in London.